Page 97 of One Kind Soul

“Sorry to ruin your plans,” she said.

Lynda clicked her tongue and wagged a finger at Nicole. “You’ve gotten sassy over the years. The Nicki I grew up with wouldn’t be so snarky.”

“I’m not the same person.” Her trip to Vermont and meeting Christian had changed her. At least she’d gotten to be that person—a better, more confident person—for a little while. She wouldn’t die that quiet, take-Lynda’s-shit person she’d been. That was one small victory Lynda couldn’t steal from her.

“No. You’re not the same person. Falling in love altered you. Though that farmer guy must be blind to find you acceptable.” Lynda’s hands curled into fists at her sides. “Maybe you get it now though. Perhaps you see that when you love someone, you’ll follow them anywhere. Do whatever they suggest. Get involved in everything they plan.”

“That’s what happened when you met Tim.”

“Don’t you say his name.” Lynda jabbed a finger in her direction. “Don’t you ever say his name. He’s in jail because of you. You destroyed our life together. You!” Her voice had risen, her face contorted in rage. “We had our future all planned out and you ruined every bit of it! Just like you ruined the Travers family!”

“Can’t you get Tim out?” Nicole did her best to keep her tone steady. Inside she was so afraid of Lynda snapping, but Lynda had always used words to manipulate. Couldn’t the same work for Nicole? “You got yourself out.”

“Don’t you think I tried freeing Tim?” Lynda spat. “That was the first thing I attempted after I escaped, but he’s in a more secure penitentiary.” A strangled cry gurgled out of her throat. “I couldn’t get him out. Not without getting myself locked up again.”

Selfish. Lynda didn’t even have honor when it came to the man she claimed to love.

“So what are your plans then?” Nicole asked, shifting a little on the bed so the rope attached to the headboard from her wrists sagged in her lap. “After you deal with me?”

“I’ll use some of our hidden funds to set myself up somewhere and I’ll wait for Tim.”

“And you’ll live happily ever after?” Nicole rolled her eyes.

Lynda let out a roar and rushed at the bed, but Nicole was ready. She shot her leg out, her bare heel connecting with her sister’s stomach. With the wind temporarily knocked out of her, Lynda teetered forward. Nicole took the slack rope in her lap and looped it around Lynda’s neck.

Closing her eyes, she pulled the rope taut.

Her sister clawed at Nicole and contorted her body, but Nicole kept that rope tight, cutting off Lynda’s air supply. Nicole’s muscles strained and she envisioned herself in Aliza’s yoga class back in Maplehaven. Inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, she reached this weird place of inner calm and total focus. Yeah, she was, by all accounts, strangling her sister in her lap. But she was also defending herself.

She was reclaiming her dignity.

Digging deep, Nicole found the energy to grip that rope until Lynda finally went limp. Nicole eased her sister to the floor after unlooping the rope from her neck. Angry red welts marred Lynda’s neck, but Nicole couldn’t feel bad about that.

Nicole dragged the bed over to the doorway, but she still had the problem of being tied to it. She had enough length to step into the hallway.

That was all she needed.

“Police! Open up!”

“Come in!” Nicole yelled back.

The front door of the apartment crashed open and police in tactical vests streamed in, weapons up and ready.

“FREEZE!”

Nicole attempted to get her hands up, but she was out of rope. “I’m Nicole Travers,” she said. “Lynda Broaks is passed out on the floor in there.” She jutted her chin toward the bedroom.

Two police officers approached, their guns still aimed. They climbed over the twin bed blocking the doorway while a third officer came over to Nicole.

“Are you hurt?” She pulled out a multi-tool and sawed at the rope around Nicole’s wrists.

“No.” When her hands were free, she touched a sensitive spot on her neck. “Lynda injected me with something though. I passed out.”

The officer examined her neck. “Okay. I see the entry point.” She tapped an earpiece she wore and said, “We need two ambulances.”

“How did you guys know where to find me?” Nicole asked.

“You didn’t make it easy,” another officer said as he walked over. “You’re good at evading the police, Miss Travers.”